


Golden Beryl

by StrawhatsAndDelibirds



Series: AU Beryl [1]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe there's some character shuffling, Emotional Manipulation, F/F, and also changed to fit in with the rules that i need to have or i will die, some characters are just shifted to the left, tagging as I go because this isn't fully planned out yehaw
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-04
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:48:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 18,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22110583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StrawhatsAndDelibirds/pseuds/StrawhatsAndDelibirds
Summary: This is the tale of Yellow Diamond. A ruler, a leader, and a revolutionary.
Relationships: Ruby/Sapphire (Steven Universe)
Series: AU Beryl [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1591540
Comments: 4
Kudos: 19





	1. Chapter 1

Existence happened suddenly and without warning. Bursting forth from the stoney cliffside, she was fully alert and aware. Yellow diamond, E4YYD1, a gem above all other gems meant to rule. Though looking around she felt as if there had to be some sort of error, as no one was around to greet her as she emerged. There wasn’t anyone as far as she could see. 

If she was of the fourth era, that meant there were more gems. Gems that had been responsible for her creation. And going off what she knew of her programing, there had to be another diamond who was ruling. Perhaps there was prior to her, and she was a back up plan. Perhaps she was meant as a co-ruler. But her answers would not be found here. 

She glanced around the canyon she was in. The walls were covered in exit points of different gems. Gems that were smaller than her, but not by much. Perhaps a little wider in the shoulders. They probably weren’t diamonds. There could only be so many rulers. There were so many possibilities on what they could be, but unfortunately none remained to tell her. They had all gone on ahead to do what they were meant to do. 

Nothing good would come of her if she continued to laze around pondering what ifs. She was meant to do something. To BE someone. She couldn’t do any of it if she kept standing around here. 

She would follow the wall until she found something of note. If there were still gems in the area, then it only made sense that there was some sort of proof other than the holes that they were here. Perhaps a settlement, or even a base. Yellow lacked the luxury of pickiness, she would take anything that she could find. 

Sitting in the middle of the canyon she found herself in, was something that appeared to be a very large, blue gem. A different cut than her own, and far too big to belong to an actual gem. It radiated a power to it that meant it was active and had some sort of use. Whatever that use was was a completely different matter. If it were here, then that meant that the area was in some way important. The smartest strategy for now would be to wait here for someone to find her. 

Before she could get a better look at it, everything started to get darker. Something was above her. Looking up, she saw something large and pink. It was hard to tell from this angle, but it certainly wasn’t the time to stand around and figured it out. Yellow took a few large steps back to move out of the shadow. The whatever it was landed on the large gem, covering it entirely with it’s fingers? It slammed down with such force that it almost knocked her back. Yellow had to wonder if she had been mistaken of the gem’s importance, or if it was the owner of whatever was responsible for this pink arm. 

A large pink bubble formed on the surface of the wrist of the arm, and rolled down the side to right in front of her. From the pink bubble, emerged a gem roughly her size, but pink. She was also dressed differently, certainly ornate to an almost gaudy degree. At her side was a similarly dressed (though hardly ornate) gem who stood at around two thirds of their height. The pink diamond wrapped her arms around her before she had time to react. 

“Oh my stars! Look at you! To think we were under the impression that you were going to be a little overcooked feldspar. Those jade must’ve really messed it up this time.” Yellow was released, and Pink had chosen to hold onto both her hands instead. “But look at you! You’re absolutely beautiful!” 

Yellow hadn’t been very old. She was only a few hours at most. But she felt as though she wouldn’t be so easy to flatter like this. Yet here she was feeling absolutely bashful with a warm feeling in her gem. Relief was all she really expected, but she felt happy about this. 

“Thank you. I believe I’m made perfectly to code. I look forward to working with you in the future.” She only got one shot at a good first impression. If she didn’t manage to do this correctly, then Pink’s entire view of her from this point forward would be off coloured. As a diamond she should strive for perfection, and nothing less. 

Pink stared at her, blinking silently. Then once she processed what was said, she laughed. Yellow felt she should be insulted, or embarrassed. Yet somehow she did feel negatively at all. She felt as though she had planned to say something like that, that she had meant to make her laugh. What a strange feeling. 

“You’re so adorable. We’re Diamonds. We don’t have to do anything we don’t want to.” She looked so happy, that Yellow felt almost validated. There was still a lingering part of her that felt as if that were wrong, but the greater part of her was more fixated on the warm and gentle feeling that she had only been strengthened when she laughed. 

“I thought we were supposed to lead?” She asked bashfully. Part of her felt ashamed of how timid that came out, the rest ashamed that she was so out of the loop of what she was supposed to do. Pink was of the same rank as her, they were equals in all but experience, but Yellow should’ve emerged with everything she was supposed to know. 

“No silly, we get to rule. It’s a totally different thing. Come on! Let’s get out of this dingy place and I’ll show you!” She smiled, pulling her forward. A pink opaque bubble formed around them and Yellow could feel them moving. 

The bubble faded and they now where in a ship with soft rose lighting, and almost exclusively pink around them with only what Yellow could assume was meant to be white if not for the lighting around them. There was no reason for her to be surprised, the outside of the ship was pink, and belonged to Pink. She would be more shocked if it were green. 

The smaller gem curtseyed and ran ahead. It seemed like an odd thing to do. Was this a standard procedure? If she were a pilot of some sort, it seemed odd for her to disembark with her Diamond. Perhaps a deeper relationship was present, as a favorite among other gems? 

“Oh don’t mind my little pearl. She’s just running ahead to let my morganite and my topaz know that we’re coming through.” Pink waved her hand as she started walking. Yellow assumed that that was her cue to follow. “If we had known you were coming, we’d have prepared a pearl of your own. I’d let you have one of mine for the time being, but they wouldn’t match at all. A pretty pink pearl would look so out of place against your cute yellows. We’ll be sure to get you one as soon as possible.” 

Yellow hadn’t thought of herself as the type to want to be cute, but it felt nice to hear it be said. Perhaps it was something that was a common trait between diamonds. It seemed there was a lot that she was unaware of. It wouldn’t be shocking if this were another thing. 

Her eyes were drawn to the assorted gems with their arms crossed and their eyes closed. One was built not too dissimilar to the pearl. Certainly not as small or frail, but the same round features and slim build. The second was a larger rounder build, Yellow might even hazard to say the exact opposite of a pearl. Sturdy and large, probably meant for combat. The two seemed like polar opposites, sharing only the hue of their gems. 

“Will I also be getting gems like these?” If Pink got gems that were pink, it felt like a fair assumption that Yellow would also be receiving gems that were yellow. Especially after her last statement about her getting a pearl that matched. 

“Oooh, you’re a clever little one. You’re barely out of the ground and already you’re catching on. You’ll be getting all sorts of gems. All made to match you!” Pink went passed them and into another room. The door closed moments after Yellow had entered. Pink sat down on a cushioned seat by a window that Yellow had not been previously aware existed until just this moment. “But the most important one you’ll be getting for now is going to be your pearl. I just can’t believe that we weren’t even prepared enough to get you a pearl.” 

Pink threw her hands up in exasperation. She didn’t have any important business yet. Even if she did, Yellow was positive that she was capable enough to handle a little bit of work on her own. 

“So what exactly is the purpose of a pearl? If I am to rule, then surely a pearl must also have a role of her own.” Her importance made it seem like a pearl would be a partner. Someone to assist her with the normal affairs of life as a diamond. 

“Pearls have a very important role, Yellow. The more pearls you have, the more obvious it is that you’re someone important. Even if you only travel with one, you still have all the rest of your pearls busy with checking in on your zircrom or carrying things for you.” 

“Shouldn’t I be more concerned with getting more practical gems? Like ones that would help me rule a colony better?” Because so far there was nothing about a pearl that jumped out as important to her. Maybe once she had more than she could handle, but for now it seemed unnecessary. 

“Oh Yellow. You can’t just be a Diamond without a pearl. You just think that way because didn’t have one ready for you. You’re going to love her when you get one. We can even program her to teach you how to be a Diamond. We can program all her replacements to teach you too for when you break her.” Replacements? She had no intention of breaking her gems. It seemed counterproductive and wasteful. 

“Should I be worried about not knowing my own strength?” The other possibility was that this was a common problem with new gems, and that it was to be expected that she accidentally put too much force into something and damaged someone. She hadn’t exactly gotten the chance to do much of anything yet. 

“Not in the slightest. Pearls are cheap and easy to replace. You’ll think it’s a big deal to break the first one, but you’ll soon come to find that it’s nothing. Come sit down, it’s not going to be a long ride, but it’s always better to ride in comfort.” Pink patted the spot next to her. 

The cushion was about as soft as it looked. Yellow sank right in as she sat down. It was more comfortable than standing, but became less so as she realized that she was eye level with the still standing pearl, who had said nothing about anything as they spoke about her and her kind of gem. 

“Should I make room for you?” She offered, but the pearl didn’t move. It’d seem impractical to have a kind of gem who delivered messages to be unable to hear. Pink laughed. 

“Oh don’t worry about her. She’ll be fine standing. These seats are for diamonds anyways.” Now the pearl seemed to react. She seemed genuinely shocked that she was being addressed. Yellow was unaware of who else she’d be talking to, seeing as she was the only other gem in the room.

“I can’t wait to show you to the other diamonds, they’re going to love you.” Pink beamed. 

“Oh!! Instead of meeting you now, we should have a big party!” Pink interrupted, before Yellow could say a word. A party didn’t really seem like that necessary. 

Though on the other hand, Yellow was a new diamond. That seemed reason enough to celebrate she supposed. 

“What kind of party?” Party was unfortunately not one of the things that had been programmed into her at her inception. It seemed that she was missing a lot of information she was supposed to have. Perhaps a side effect of being an unplanned diamond. 

“Oh my stars, you’re going to love this. Usually we have a party for every new successful colony we set up, but this is something way more special that any of that. This is the dawn of era four! You’re a new diamond! This is the perfect chance to celebrate.” Pink clapped her hands together in excitement. Yellow felt herself getting excited for the event as well. It was a leap into the complete unknown, but if Pink was so happy about this, then she should as well. 

“So how many colonies do you have now?” 

“Oh we’re in the hundreds, but that’s taking into account that we don’t count a colony as complete until we’ve completely exhausted the resources. The one’s I’ve been responsible for is probably around fifty?” Pink stopped, as if to think it over. “I’d have to count my zircrom later. I can’t be bothered to remember how many I’ve successfully done.” 

Yellow was impressed. To think that she could talk about her own accomplishments like this as if they were nothing. That meant that she done it effortlessly. Yellow couldn’t imagine what would happen if Pink had to actually try. That also meant that there were big shoes to fill. Once she got a colony of her own, she was going to have to work hard to keep pace with her fellow diamonds who had been at this so much longer than she was. She was going to have to take note as to not fall behind. 

“And that also means we’ll be getting new pearls as well. One of the most important things you can learn as a diamond, is that you can never have too many pearls.” Pink smiled. 

“Do you get a new pearl every party?” Because that sounded like a lot of pearls. 

“We used to, but once we hit Era Two it started getting to be a lot, so we decided that you only get a new pearl once you complete a colony or at the start of a new era. It also stopped us from wasting too many resources because we would make pearls just cause sometimes. Don’t worry though, you’ll catch up in no time.” Though it wasn’t nearly as many as she had originally thought, Pink still had so many pearls. And that wasn’t even counting the pearls that belonged to other Diamonds. She could hardly imagine them all in one place. She had to wonder if they were going to be at the party. She couldn’t imagine a better time to show them all off. 

“Oh! We’re landing soon. You stay on board the ship, and I’ll send some pearls to start arranging the party. I’ll also send some to get the pearls ready. There’s nothing worse than a party being delayed because the pearls were late.” 

“So what will we be doing?” Because it seemed like there was nothing left for them to do.

“I suppose that we can go check on my current colony.” Pink said it as if it were the most boring thing. But Yellow was so excited to see what the other side of a colony looked like.

“I’d appreciate that.”


	2. Chapter 2

There wasn’t much time between the pearl that had been with them disembarking and a new, but similar one taking her place. She was just as quiet and still as the first one, curtseying and saluting them as she took her place exactly where the last pearl stood. So far it seemed all pearls did were tasks that seemed like they could easily have been done by some sort of technology. 

They could travel through space with ease, and Yellow was supposed to assume that a message couldn’t be transferred from such a short distance? It seemed a little unreasonable. But even if Pink had a wonderful laugh to hear, there was only so much that Yellow could handle of being laughed at. She would bite her tongue for now, and save her questions for someone else. 

“So where exactly is this colony we’re going to visit? Is it nearby?” Because the galaxy seemed to be a vast and expansive place. If there were over a hundred potential colonies to visit, there were so many options. 

“Well it only seemed fitting that I show you the colony you came from, but from the perspective you should’ve seen it from.” She was not aware that the colony she was from was active. It seemed so wide and empty when she was there. Perhaps that was because the colony had moved on from the empty hollows and onto more interesting places. 

“Excellent. I look forward to it.” Pink laughed again. Yellow was unaware that she had said anything funny. She certainly wasn’t trying to.

“You’re so adorable, Yellow. You’re so serious all the time. It’s like you’re a diamond who’s as serious as an agate or a lapis lazuli or something. Lighten up a little.” Pink smiled at her and her tension melted away. Perhaps she was being too serious. She felt a little sheepish, though not in a bad way. 

“My apologize, I’ll try to loosen up in the future.” Though she wasn’t exactly sure she was going to manage that. This whole time she was under the assumption that she was being herself, and that that was what she was supposed to be this whole time. She would do her best to watch to see how she’s supposed to act. 

“Oh don’t worry, we’ll get you a spinel when we get you a pearl. Spinel are lots of fun and they’ll teach you how to relax for sure.” Pink stopped and looked at her pearl. “Would you be a dear and retrieve my spinel?” 

The expression on the pearl’s face got nervous, and her postier wavered for the briefest moment before she snapped back to her straight upright position. 

“My apologies, My Diamond, but I was not given your spinel prior to my arrival. I believe she’s still with the pearl tending to the party affairs who disembarked earlier.” The pearl kept her head up and her eyes shut. Yellow noticed her trembling ever so slightly. 

The expression on Pink’s face soured. In the short time that she knew her, Pink was so warm and inviting. Everything about her seemed so safe and so welcoming. But it was as if in an instant the world grew cold. Cold like it was back before Yellow was found. 

But just as soon as the cold came, the warm returned as Pink’s expression returned to normal. As if nothing had happened, she shrugged. 

“Oh well, I can always show you mine later. She’s really cute and I’m sure you’ll love her to pieces.” Pink giggled. 

“I’m excited to meet her. I’m sure she’s fun.” The words didn’t feel right on her tongue. That must’ve been because this was practice to be the kind of gem she was meant to be. Practice wasn’t meant to be easy. If it wasn’t easy, then you wouldn’t need to practice. 

“You’re adorable, you’re both going to have so much fun.” Pink laughed. Yellow was going to have to practice a lot more when Pink wasn’t around. If there was a moment when Pink was pulled away to do something on the colony, Yellow would jump at the chance. 

“There’s going to be so many different types of gem at the base that I can’t wait to show you. There might not be a spinel, but I’m sure there’s lots of fun gems I can show you.” That was something that Yellow was excited for. With so many gems, that meant she was going to know the different gems that she was going to be working with from now on. Or at least similar gems. 

The ride back didn’t feel nearly as long. Maybe there was a closer point on the base, or that moment in the middle lasted longer than she realized. But regardless, Pink stood up and did a single excited hop. 

“Pearl, why don’t you go give the gems around a heads up that we’re here. Then you can meet me in the Diamond Chamber.” The pearl stiffened, curtsied, and ran off. Yellow already knew that she wasn’t going to have a pleasant time. That pearl would not get the benefit of being introduced to gems of a similar caliber to the ones she was going to work with soon. She only had yelling to look forward to now.

They waited a moment, before heading out into the hallway, passing the morganite and topaz. As they walked, the topaz followed behind them. An escort perhaps? Surely Pink knew her way around her own colony, even if it was somewhere she didn’t often visit. 

“Don’t mind her, topaz are specially made to guard special gems like ourselves. It’s good for if something unexpected happens. Or something unavoidable. Usually I would have my star ruby here to predict the future for me, but she was unfortunately… dismissed. She didn’t even give me a little warning that you were coming. The most important part of her job is to make sure I don’t look bad, after all.” A gem that could see the future? That was definitely something that she was interested in. That seemed like a very helpful tool when it came to running an empire. 

Though even if you did know the future, it seemed like a good idea to bring a topaz with you in case of an incident. It was better to be over prepared than under, after all. 

The halls of this building were also pink. That must’ve been how Pink distinguished her colonies from the others. Though that was assuming that that wasn’t just a common theme with diamonds, and she was the outlier with her yellow tint. The hallways also seemed a lot busier, as there were many gems that had stopped what they were doing to press against the walls and salute them with their eyes closed. 

Pink came to a door, and placed her hand on the control panel. The door lit up and slid down somewhere below the floor. As they did on the ship, Pink walked in, and Yellow followed behind. The only real change were the topaz that came in before and after. 

In the middle of the room was a gem seated with many screens open in front of her scrolling faster than Yellow could read. The content of what was on it was lost to her, but it was without a doubt important to some degree. Behind her stood a pearl. It was a different pearl than before, so this wasn’t the Diamond Chamber. This was the third pearl she had seen, and while she was similar to the previous two, she felt different. 

The chair turned and the seated gem rose, her arms bending into the salute. The pearl followed, adding a courtesy of her own. It must’ve just been a trick of the eye, but the previously seated gem bore a striking resemblance to Pink, even if she seemed smaller. 

“My Diamond. Forgive the lack of welcome you’ve been given. We weren’t expecting you quite so soon.” The gem said, looking down and never meeting Pink’s eyes. Perhaps that was a show of respect? 

“Oh don’t worry about it. Something so big happened that one of your jades went straight to me when they found out.” Pink bounced excitedly. She was barely anything, and already she was a big deal. She had been nothing but adored since she met another gem, and she had to wonder if this was how she was with all new gems or if she truly was this special. 

The gem’s attention turned to her. For the briefest of moments, their eyes met. It was easily missable, as her eyes immediately closed and her head turned towards the floor as not to make the same mistake again. 

“My apologies, I certainly wasn’t expecting… Wait. My Diamond did you say one of my jades?” The gem asked, rushing back towards her screens and quickly scrolling to a section about slowed progress. “Now things are starting to make more sense. I knew there had to be a reason why progress had slowed to the degree it had. Resources were focused on creating greatness. I’ll take into account these changes and proceed accordingly.” 

Pink swayed absently as the gem spoke. These were all things that she had heard millions of times before. But to Yellow, this was all new and fascinating. She thought back to when they were talking on the ship about pearls. Pink had mentioned a kind of gem she wasn’t familiar with. 

“You wouldn’t happen to be a zircrom, would you?” The look on Pink’s face said that she wasn’t invested in this sort of talk, and that she’d probably leave it to other gems to handle for her. The gem looked at her again and blinked. Before her gaze went directly back to the floor. 

“You are correct. Pink Zircrom E3PZ34. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Your Brilliance.” That’s a fair number of zircrom since the era began. Pink and her court must truly be hard at work. 

“Isn’t she just the smartest?! I have some business to attend to really quick, but why don’t you show her some of the things you do around here! Toodles!” Pink chirped, leaving the room followed by the two topaz. It felt a little odd that she was being left with no guards. Pink felt that they were necessary, so it was only natural that as another diamond that she should have some as well. Though she did suppose that she didn’t have any colonies of her own yet. Pink was an established leader, Yellow wasn’t even known to the public yet. It was indisputable that Pink was the more important one out of the two of them. 

The zircrom sputtered as she tried to think of an argument or excuse. Her hand reached out towards the door as if she could stop Pink and make her change her mind about all this. But the door closed and the zircrom deflated. 

An awkward moment passed, as Yellow stood there. The room felt cold without Pink’s presence. It was similar to when that pearl broke the news that she didn’t have the spinel. It was almost wrong and uncomfortable. Not even the walls seemed to want to keep their warm shade, fading to a muted one. And now on top of all that there was a gem who she was left under the supervision of didn’t pay her any attention. It wasn’t her place to tell this other gem what to do. She was not one of her gems. She was Pink’s, and she probably had centuries on her as far as experience. She had no desire to speak out of line. 

“My Zircrom, Her Brilliance?” The pearl said, and the zircrom shot right up. Perhaps that’s what the function of a zircrom’s pearl is. To anchor them back down to reality. 

“Yes! Of course! Where are my manners?! Come have a seat, and I can show you what I was up to.” The zircrom scrambled to pull out the chair. The pearl moved further away so her master would have a place to stand. 

Yellow had no qualms with standing. She had barely been made, and had spent at least half of her time now seated. However it did seem rude to turn her down. It seemed as though the stress of running a colony had run her ragged. 

The screen before her was now crystal clear. It read off progress on gems like sunstones and rose quartz. The sheer quantity of them was astounding. There was also progress on spires and temples. Yellow couldn’t even conceive of what they would look like, but they sounded so grand. There were loss reports, but nothing substantial. Barely anything on the same scale of creation. 

And that was barely scratching the surface. Yellow could tell that these lists went on for ages. It was impressive that one gem was responsible for all this. And that there was one for each planet? It seemed almost like too much work for one gem. 

“You manage all this on your own?” Because Pink seemed reasonable enough to allow her to be given a partner to help shoulder this burden. 

“I’ve heard that it’s more work in the beginning. Once the colony is complete, you simply manage and keep tabs on the gems you created and maintain what you’ve built.” The Zircrom reassured. There was some comfort in knowing that she wouldn’t be under so much pressure forever.

“I’m genuinely impressed. I suppose that given Pink’s laid back nature I had assumed that the matters of empire were easy, but it seems a lot more in depth than I had originally thought.” The Zircrom briefly brightened, before she brought herself back down to her normal brightness. 

“I like to think of myself as a cut above the other zircrom. Not every gem can be so privileged to be running the colony from which Brilliance is created.” Even if she had only found out moments ago. Yellow would bite her tongue. She seemed proud of the fact, and it felt needlessly cruel to take that pride away. “And if I’m a cut above the rest, then that means that I’m serving my Diamond well. That is my goal as a high ranking member of her court.” 

“When the time comes for me to run a colony, would it be too far out of the question for my Zircrom briefly comes and studies under you?” Because despite the awkward bumps in the middle, she had been everything Yellow could see being necessary in a zircrom. There’d be a lot of help, as Yellow was positive that she was no exception when it came to being created with a set of blueprints already in her gem with what exactly she was meant to do. That being said, she needed assistance if she wanted to be truly great. 

Pink Zircrom brightened again. She did her best to tone it down, but it seemed as if Yellow had said something that made her genuinely happy. 

“Of course, Your Brilliance. It would be my pleasure.” Though it was still a long way, Yellow would like to be prepared. She wanted to make a good impression with her first colony. The whole empire would be watching her, and she didn’t want to let a single one of them down. 

“Oh, I’ve just remembered something. I’m sure you’re going to love it. It’s one of Pink Diamond’s favorites.” Pink Zircrom put her hand on the arm of the chair and tapped her fingers rhythmically. 

The screens in front of Yellow blinked off, and the console they were being projected from sank into the ground. The floor swallowed it up and was still for a moment. Then it opened back up and up floated a sphere. Nothing seemed outstanding about the sphere, aside from maybe size. Even then, it was perhaps only above average rather than outstandingly large. Yellow turned her eyes to Pink Zircrom, who placed a hand on the orb. 

The room changed, instantly going from the large grey room, to a white, open platform where they were surrounded by stars. Gems that she had never seen before moved around and chatted soundlessly. 

It was marvelous. Yellow could hardly believe her eyes. She supposed that it made sense that she not be allowed to intermingle with the other gems, and certainly not without any gems of her own to keep her safe. But standing here in the room where she could watch the lively scenes like this felt like a nice compromise. 

“Under normal circumstances, I’d escort you to some of our finished locations so you could see them for yourself first hand. But given you don’t have a palenquine nor gems to escort you and keep you safe in case anything were to go amiss, we unfortunately have to stay here. I hope that is acceptable to you.” Pink Zircrom apologized. 

“It’s wonderful. I can imagine such tools would make the task of watching over a colony much easier. So you can see any part of the colony like this?” Yellow reached out toward the sphere, but thought better of it and pulled her hand back to her lap. 

“Anywhere so long as it’s an outside location on this planet. There’s select indoor locations such as temples where you can look inside, but it’s mostly just a tool to monitor constructions.” Pink Zircrom reached to change the location, but stopped short. “Would you like to try it, Your Excellence?” 

“Are you positive you want me to try? I’ve never operated any sort of device before. I couldn’t bare if I destroyed one of your crucial pieces of equipment.” She was meant to aide in the creation of colonies, not to impede them. 

“I assure you there’s nothing to worry about. Even on the slimmest chance something does go wrong, that’s what my team of cat’s eyes are for. Go on, just place your hand on the orb and it’ll make it clear as to how to use it.” She’d put her faith in Pink Zircrom, and put her hand on the orb. 

Her field of view was obscured by menus, with information detailing places on the colony. With no real knowledge of what was on the planet and a longing for her regular vision back, she picked at random. 

The menu blinked away as quickly as it had appeared, and Yellow had her vision back. The room had changed drastically in the moments since she had seen it last. Instead of looking up directly at the sky, they were now in an open air room. It was a soft pink, and there were stairs that went on to a destination far out of view. Large, bulky gems busied themselves carrying materials up to the top.

“This is one of the spires we’re working on. Presently the only gems here are bismuth and the lapis lazuli they’re working under.” This orb certainly made things easier. If past experience is any indication, then her being there would halt any production in favor of saluting her. “Once it’s finished, gems like sapphires, alexandrite, aventurine, agates, and lapis lazuli will all spend any free time they might find here.”

“And what of the other gems?” Maybe the other structure they were at? Yellow wasn’t great at identifying gems. So far she knew six, but none of the ones that were mentioned were ones she was familiar with. 

“Well naturally there’ll be pearls and topaz there, but they’ll be working more so than relaxing. Other gems usually spend their free time in temples, or on occasion the kindergartens where they came from. There are other gems that spend their time elsewhere, but they’re special cases.” Probably gems like the spinel she had heard about. 

“Oh! You’ve already fired up the planet scanner? If I would have known I would’ve saved that other business for later!” Pink reentered the room, the simulation faltering as the door opened and closed. Her topaz followed with her, and another new pearl was at her side. She did say something about having a lot of pearls earlier. This one must’ve had the spinel with her. 

“My apologizes, My Diamond. I was unaware that you’d care about such things. I will me more mindful in the future.”Pink Zircrom shot back upright, putting her arms into the salute. 

“I will shoulder some of the blame. She was only trying to keep me amused, and she did an excellent job.” Yellow interjected. This was not her place to butt in, but Pink Zircrom had been nothing but an excellent host thus far. Yellow couldn’t in good conscience let her get in trouble on her behalf. 

Pink stopped. She blinked and the warm welcoming feeling that she had come to know from Pink returned. She had done something extremely bold and dumb, but it had paid off. Despite this, she would be more mindful in the future. She could only assume that Pink was going to be the one that was going to gift her her colony after all. She had the power to postpone it for as long as she felt. 

“See what I mean when I say she’s the cutest! Come on! The rest of the stuff in here’s boring. Let’s call up one of the pearls and see how the party’s coming along!” Pink grabbed her by the hands and pulled her out of the room. 

She gave a parting wave to Pink Zircrom. They both had things to do, and it’d be selfish of Yellow to keep her much longer. She would visit her later. 


	3. Chapter 3

Before her eyes opened, she made a quick run down of the things that had been programmed into her. Pearl model E4YP1, first pearl of Yellow Diamond made specifically for the grand ball that was to be her grand reveal. She was to serve as her aide until she understood the expectations that came with being a Diamond, and then she was to continue on as an ordinary pearl. 

She felt as though she should have a solid image of her Diamond in her mind. She knew that she was going to have to match her perfectly. All she had to go off of was belonging to E4YYD1, which aside from assigning her, gave her nothing to go off of. For now she’d have to settle for something beautiful, but generic. 

Her eyes fluttered open, and she was met by another pearl who had been waiting for her to finish forming. Looking around, she saw three more pearls getting their bearings. If she was Era Four, that meant that those ones also belonged to the other Diamonds. They were very beautiful and ornate. She had a very limited view of herself, but she hoped that she was also as beautiful as they were. Though she would happily sacrifice how she looked if it meant that this way she could better serve her Diamond. 

But there wasn’t a Diamond in sight, and that was certainly a weight off her shoulders for the time being. 

“Ahem.” The pearl in front of her cleared her throat. That was right, there was a pearl here that knew what she was doing. She was one of Pink Diamond’s pearls, so she had to have some experience. 

“My apologies.” Pearl curtsied. The pink pearl looked unimpressed. The other pearls, seeing the action happening over here, left their clam shells to get a better view. She felt that this was hardly any of their concern, as it seemed she was the only one being given to a new diamond. They simply had to be pretty and mind their own business, which they were failing the latter spectacularly. 

“Be more careful in the future. You’re lucky that we’re under time restraints, as you are a very important pearl and we can’t have any flaws. A spacey pearl is a useless pearl. A Diamond doesn’t take too kindly to gems, especially pearls, not doing as they’re supposed to when they’re supposed to. You are easily replaceable. Never forget that.” The pink pearl jabbed her finger at her chest. 

She had to wonder if all pearl introductions were this friendly, or if she was extra special. The peanut gallery giggled among themselves. Pearl waited for them to be scolded for their less than perfect behavior, it’d be nice to share in this misery. 

“I cannot stress enough the importance that you stay focused while you’re with your Diamond. She is newly emerged and has no other gems. Her image for the time being relies heavily on you doing your job properly and escorting her and teaching her all the proper elements of being a Diamond. Don’t mess up and get yourself shattered because you’ve decided to do a subpar job. You’re a Diamond’s pearl. You will give nothing short of perfection. Any less than that and you’ll get me shattered for approving an obvious reject.” The pearl continued to jab at her. Good to know that the love was being spread here. Though tempting as it was to know she’d be taking her down with her, she’d hold off for now. 

Her eyes drifted over to the smug line of pearls. They certainly looked pleased by all this. They had better be glad that she was taking this bullet for them. Because as fun as it was for them to watch, it was a pain to go through. 

Her train of thought was interrupted by another jab to the chest, almost knocking her over. The other three pearls giggled among themselves. 

“What did I tell you about zoning out!! You are to remain focused at all times!! Are you really so dead set in putting us back another full growing period simply because you’re so dull!?” 

“No ma’am. Sorry ma’am.” Oh how she knew their little audience was loving this. Stars above, if this was the life that was waiting for her, maybe it would be best to let herself be shattered and let some other poor pearl take the fall. 

But she’d be a gem exactly like her. She’d get the same cold welcoming she did and that wouldn’t be fair. It wasn’t as if those other pearls in the room would be her replacement. She doubted any of them could handle even a little responsibility. 

“Good. Glad we’re on the same page now. Now let me make it clear right now that you are not to leave your Diamond’s side unless otherwise directed. You don’t get to have the luxury of being one of many pearls. You will be her only pearl until she completes her first colony. You will cover every job that she needs done, and you will do it without any hesitation.” The pearl instructed, as if she wasn’t already programmed with her main goals in her gem. She already knew that she was going to have to serve her Diamond with everything she had and then some. She wasn’t defective. Though with the other gems from her batch, maybe that was a valid concern. 

“Understood, ma’am.” She’d nod anyways. The jabbing was getting annoying, so it’d be better for her if she pretended as if new things were being said to her. 

“Good. Now that we’ve had this little talk, everyone return to your shells.” The pink pearl stepped back and clapped her hands. The other pearls scrambled to get back into their respective shells. Pearl had to say she was a little impressed. She had thought that it’d be beyond these gems capabilities to follow even basic orders. Turns out that even dull gems can follow orders, if nothing else. 

Pearl couldn’t say that she was excited and fully prepared for everything in the coming future. She had a lot of concerns about the behaviour of her master that were thus far unaddressed and maybe even worsened by the ramblings of the pearl that had greeted them. But perhaps one of the bigger ones was whether or not she properly matched her Diamond. Those other dull gems had the advantage of knowing what their Diamonds looked like. They were established gems in their programming. Pearl had a Diamond that had somehow been unplanned, and thus didn’t have much in the system aside from her serial number. That would make it hard for them to properly match. 

The oyster started to close around them. This would be to poof them so that they would be ready for transport. It was probably also for presentation so it added more flare and drauma when they were given, but this would give her the proper opportunity to reform properly. 

“Wait, can I at least know what my Diamond looks like?” She’d ask as she felt the clamp getting tighter and tighter around her. The pink pearl rolled her eyes, as if that were an outrageous request. 

“Open your eyes as you’re reforming then. That way you won’t forget.” She said. She had never been poofed. She understood the mechanic, but did time pass the same way in her gem as it did outside? 

The inner lights of the oyster flicked on to keep her fully charged for when they arrived. She was just going to have to see what was going to happen. Because the next time she was out, she would be with her Diamond.


	4. Chapter 4

Yellow waited awkwardly in a separate room. The party was now, but she had been instructed to wait by Pink. The order in which they entered was important, and she couldn’t be seen before her grand reveal. 

With her were five pearls, and four… things. Whatever they were, they seemed important. The pearls that carried them didn’t seem too interested in talking, and the one who had entered the room with her was preoccupied with a device she had on hand. They were all busy making sure everything went perfectly, so Yellow couldn’t bother them right now. There would be plenty of time for socializing soon enough. There’d be so many gems in addition to the other Diamonds with whom she was going to have to make a good impression. 

She was too focused on the other occupants of the room, that she had forgotten to do something important. Once she was out of this room, she had to make a grand entrance. Pink had told her not to worry, yet Yellow couldn’t help it. This was an important moment and she couldn’t go and mess this up. It’d embarrass her in front of the entire empire, and she would make a mockery of the other Diamonds. She couldn’t imagine any number of pearl would be able to fix that for them. 

There were many approaches she could take, perhaps too many. This would be the perfect chance for her to cement her image to the masses. It would make it easier if she could see the other Diamonds do their entrances. That way she’d know for sure that she wouldn’t be stepping on any toes with the persona she chose. 

Though if they’re like Pink, perhaps it would be best to do what came naturally. She was certainly nothing like Pink, and she could only assume that the other Diamonds were as unique as she was. It must’ve been some sort of benefit that came with ruling. It didn’t make Yellow’s job any easier. Perhaps all she needed was confidence. If she messed up her entrance, but did so with the correct amount of confidence, she could bluff her way out of trouble. That would be how she did it. 

“Your Brilliance, it’s your turn.” The pearl informed, holding the door open with her body so she could properly salute her. 

“Thank you.” She supposed that there was no stalling the inevitable. She’d steady herself and leave the room. Pink had shown her the ballroom. It was around the corner, and the room with the largest doors. They were already opened, as the other Diamonds had passed through it and seated themselves on the throne at the other end of the room. 

She prepared to give a wave to each side of the crowd as she walked in, but stopped when she realized that the room was nearly devoid of other gems. She looked around, because there had to be some sort of mistake. Was she in the wrong room. Her eyes fixed on Pink, who gave her small gesture to keep going. 

There were no crowds to wave to, so Yellow walked down the center of the room. She couldn’t shake the feeling that she was missing something and had done something wrong. The subtle attempt from the other seated Diamonds to stop their laughing cemented the feeling of embarrassment. It wasn’t in front of the whole empire, but it was in front of the gems who she was going to spend the rest of eternity working with. Though the closer she got, the more potent it got. 

“Oh Pink, that was such a mean joke. You just let her flounder out there. Didn’t you tell her how our parties are?” Blue Diamond chuckled. It was a very different kind of chuckle. Much slower, with a twist of maybe something more mature. She had thought Pink had told her everything about their parties. It was a great chance for all sorts of gems from all sorts of colonies to intermingle and get to know each other. Yet it seemed as though it was just Diamonds and their pearls. 

“But she looks so cute like this, how could I resist?” Pink giggled back, gesturing to the throne at the bottom of the Diamond formation. It was lower, but she was the newer Diamond so it did make sense. “Come sit down, Yellow! The party’s about to begin.” 

She took her seat. Now turned around, she could see four large screens over the doors. Two had huge crowds that were looking forward, one that looked exactly like the doors to the ballroom, and one of them sitting at their thrones. But it didn’t look quite right. Pink looked enormous, Blue was slightly smaller, White even smaller, and Yellow looked about as big as the gems around her. 

“Don’t worry, the more colonies you have, the bigger your projection gets to be. You’ll hit your growth spurt soon enough, Little Carat.” White said, leaning over and enjoying the slight height advantage over her thanks to the chair. 

But now that they were all settled, Pink stood up and cleared her throat. 

“My dearest subjects from across the courts, let me welcome you to the first party of Era Four! Welcome your newest Diamond, Yellow Diamond!!” Pink announced to the nonexistent crowd. Yellow longed so desperately for this to have all been a practice run. The entire empire had their eyes on her, and she went and embarrassed herself so thoroughly. She was going to have to think of some way to make this moment be forgotten. Something so splendid that it out shown this mistake she had made.

But her mind went blank. Whatever it was she was thinking about slipped completely out of her grasp, and she knew that she should be worried, but she simply couldn’t manage it. It felt important, whatever it was. She knew what it was just a moment ago, so how could she have lost it so soon. 

“You’re kinda a worrier, aren’t you.” White asked. As if on cue to prove White wrong, the worries melted away. Perhaps what she was worried about wasn’t that big a deal. It passed so quickly. 

“She is, it’s so adorable!” Pink leaned in. “You two were never this cute. Neither of you needed so much help in the beginning. It makes me almost not want to give her a pearl.”

While Yellow didn’t really see the point in needing a pearl, she did want to have a gem of her own. She had existed too long without a single gem to her name. She had to start somewhere before she was given her own colony, and she wanted to get to that as soon as she could. 

“But how could I say no to a face like that?!” Pink pinched her cheek, giving it a little tug. The sooner she started work on her colony, the sooner she would be respected. She was starting to get a little tired of being called cute, and other such words. 

“Speaking of, when will they arrive?” Blue asked. 

In response, Pink simply clapped her hands. There was a beat, as soon the pearls from earlier turned the corner with those large things in hand. They entered the room much more professionally than Yellow had, and lined up in front of the thrones. Whatever those things were were placed on the ground.

On the ground, the things opened. The gem that had been sitting inside rose as they took their shape. Her eyes were fixated on the one with a slight yellow hue. That one must’ve been hers. As they reformed, they gently lowered to the form solidified. Her pearl’s gem rested right on her stomach as her own did, and her attire matched her nearly perfectly, if not for translucent. 

The feeling she felt was unlike the feelings she had felt before. It was what she felt when she was around Pink, but at the same time it wasn’t. There was some different quality that she could not place. But regardless, she was overjoyed with the pearl she had received. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, my Diamond. I look forward to serving you with everything I have.” Her pearl saluted as she curtsied.

“And I look forward to being a Diamond worth your hard work.” Her pearl blinked back. Nothing she had said struck her as being odd or out of place. Yet her pearl seemed shocked, as did the other pearls who stopped moving towards their Diamonds to stare at her. 

“Oh my stars, you are just the cutest little thing! Proving your worth to a pearl. That’s adorable!” Pink laughed, the others joining in. Yellow was starting to hate parties. She had done nothing but embarrass herself from the moment she walked in that door. Hopefully the heat would move off her once the party started fully. Though it seemed unlikely as she was the main reason for the party. 

“My, to be back when one pearl was exciting.” Blue remenised. 

“I suppose her pearl will teach her better soon enough.” White chuckled.

The whole reasoning that she shouldn’t work hard was lost on her. Was she not supposed to set an example for the rest of the empire to follow? She couldn’t imagine the whole empire being willing to work hard for rulers that sat around all day in opulent decadence. It would look bad to the gems in the line of danger. She certainly wouldn’t want to work for someone who wasn’t working just as hard as she was. 

The initial awkwardness that she had accidentally bestowed upon her pearl failed to pass, and tired of looking at their pearls for now, the other Diamonds had dismissed their pearls to join the other’s to the side where they stood in an impressive collection. Her pearl remained uncomfortably by her side, with a smile that Yellow felt was probably not too dissimilar to her own. 

“If you wish, you may join the other pearls.” She would give her the option to leave. Perhaps she would have better luck with her own kind of gem then Yellow was. She seemed more sure of what she was doing, and that could help her fit in a lot better. Though that being said, Yellow did enjoy having someone to be awkward with her. It was selfish, but it felt almost easier to get through this with a partner. 

“I shall do whatever you wish, My Diamond. If you desire for me to leave, then I shall. But I will stay if you want me to. My will is entirely up to you, My Diamond.” That was unhelpful. If she was going to work on keeping her gems happy, where better place to start than with her pearl? Granted, at present there was little that she could offer. Presently it seemed that this whole event on her end was spiralling out of control. 

She had to make a choice. Based on what the other Diamonds did, perhaps it would be best to have her rejoin the other pearls. A break of sorts from this torment that Yellow had accidentally brought upon them, even if it was only short lived suffering. She had a feeling that it would be far from the only time she’s going to make a fool of herself like this. One of them should get to have a good time. 

“You may join the other pearls. And when you tire of that, you may return.” That felt like a fair enough compromise. It felt like they both could gain from that. The worst that could happen would be that her pearl returned at the end of the party. That only really affected Yellow, and she was willing to have to deal with that. 

“Thank you, My Diamond.” Pearl saluted and curtsied, before running off to join the other pearls. It felt good to know that she had made the right decision. 

“Don’t worry, you’ll get better at giving orders soon enough. You’ll get lots of practice with your pearl. It’s part of what they’re for!” Pink said. She had to have millennia of practice under her belt. Out of everyone here, she probably knew the most about giving orders. Thinking back, she barely needed to tell her pearls anything to call them to action. Because they themselves already had millennia of practice of receiving orders. 

“Thank you. I appreciate it.” Pink was such a nice gem. She had no obligation to help her, Yellow now had a gem to do that for her. Yet here she was comforting and encouraging her. Despite her words, Yellow still knew there was going to be a lot of work between now and when she was going to be a Diamond worthy of Pink’s praise. 

“Don’t worry about it.” Pink giggled, probably feeling that same feeling that Yellow got when she was helping her pearl out. “Oh! I just got an amazing idea! How about in a few months when you have your Diamond training down and good, I can send you to one of my colonies to learn first hand what it takes to run a colony!” 

Yellow hadn’t been expecting anything like that at all. Certainly not so soon. In only a few short months she’d be ready to start learning what she needs for a proper colony. Yellow felt as if it would be years before she was remotely close to being that prepared. But to hear that Pink had that much faith that she would have advanced enough to be worthy of that kind of recognition? That felt as good as when she got her pearl.

“Are you positive that I’ll be ready by then?” She didn’t want her to change her mind, but she also wanted to be absolutely sure that she was ready for this. 

“You’ll be fine. Besides, you’re going to get lots of training while you’re at my colony. It’s not just gonna be fun and games.” Pink warned, but that was exactly what Yellow wanted. She wanted this chance to prove herself. She had no reason to believe that she would gain any respect playing silly little games. 

“Thank you so much for the opportunity! I won’t let you down.” She would put her all into this. The other Diamonds laughed again. She would contain her excitement. Perhaps it was getting to be a bit much. 

“Oh I know you won’t. You’re too cute to be disappointing.” Pink giggled. Though it wasn’t entirely her goal, making Pink happy felt like a key part of making her proud. Yellow would take the giggles as a sign of progress for now. 

Soon enough she would be awed by the progress she had made, and just how efficient she was. She would show them all that she was going to be a force of her own, equal to the rest of them. Though she wasn’t there just yet. She knew she still had a long way to go, as the party just accented how much she still had to learn.

But with the help of her pearl, she knew she was going to be unstoppable soon enough. And Yellow couldn’t wait for the party to end so she could get started on her training. 


	5. Chapter 5

She hadn’t known this was going to happen. She always knew what was going to happen. From the moment she was created she watched as events were going to unfold as she so wished. It was in her nature, it was what she was as a Sapphire. 

But now a future so unbelievable happened, and left her in the dark. Something as big as a Diamond being created wasn’t something that you could hide like that. It took centuries of planning, and not once did she see any glimpse of this happening. 

Pink Diamond had somehow managed to keep her a secret from everyone. Sapphire couldn’t see a future where she came across Star Ruby E2PSR2 again. Maybe it had been a secret from her as well. 

Maybe she was looking too deeply into this. She was a gem that saw all likely situations. She didn’t get access to the Diamonds too often, so their futures remained a mystery unless they overlapped. But the fact that this caught her off guard shook her to her gem. 

She needed to go outside and get some light. She was feeling weak. 

The palace fortunately had many balconies for gems like her to visit. It was well tended to by pearls and bismuth, who lived exclusively for maintenance of the glimmering, unmarred floor. Gems like here weren’t the issue, but there were always the odd brute that came and sullied the marble with their dirty feet, or gems being shattered with more force than necessary to prove a point. 

Fortunately, Sapphire found herself alone to gather her thoughts and center herself. This was just Pink Diamond’s doing. She has had enough star rubies to know exactly what the limits of future vision was. E2PSR2 probably helped her with that before something unfortunate befell her. Knowing fate does not make it avoidable. 

Yes. This was all just a little game from Pink Diamond. She certainly was a master of parties. It was a very fun joke she pulled. She got at least one sapphire with it. 

She jumped so hard she almost retreated into her gem when a hand touched her shoulder. Her hand covered her gem in an attempt to steady herself. 

“I’m so sorry. I did mean to startle you, your clarity.” One of her topaz jumped up, bowing deeply to her. To add to the list of things that shouldn’t have happened, a gem managed to sneak up on her. How unlike her to be so unfocused. It’s no wonder Pink Diamond was able to sneak something so big past her like this. 

“Shouldn’t you be back with the other topaz?” Topaz and other such gems were typically left outside of the ball. They had their own screen that they watched of the Diamonds. Inside the ball was reserved for gems of a higher status. 

“You left looking so frazzled, and we barely got here. I thought something happened in there and I just wanted to know that you were okay.” It seemed obvious why she was so frazzled. It was perhaps uncharacteristic of her to react so dramatically, but it seemed just as uncharacteristic of her that she’d be caught so off guard. 

“I’m fine. I simply got tired of being in such close quarters. It’s been a while since my last ball.” It wasn’t entirely a lie. There were gems from every colony that still had high ranking gems to send. No amount of knowing ahead of time could force you to be ready to endure being crammed in there. It certainly wasn’t going to help much if there was going to be another Diamond creating gems. 

“I wonder if they’re going to build a new ballroom, or at least add onto the palace. I barely could get out of the room with all the topaz and pearls.” E3BT 9873  said, trying to relate. She could only imagine what their conditions were like. Sapphires tended to be the first ones to events like this, she couldn’t imagine the struggle it was to get out from the back. Though there must’ve been some benefit to being small as she was designed for a sapphire. 

“Perhaps later in the era. At present I can’t see any changes being made.” Bismuth were probably too preoccupied with making updates to the main palace where the Diamonds resided to focus on parts that were only used every few centuries. 

“Aw man. At least they could make the landing bay bigger.” E3BT 9873 complained, though she was not the one that had to worry about such things. 

“Large events like this aren’t common. Though the Diamonds have more pressing concerns. They do have entire systems of colonies to monitor. Though it is a hassle. It’s why I try to be early.” There wasn’t much to be done. She didn’t envy the tardy Crysoberyl who would have to land in the old kindergarten and use a warp pad and walk to even get close. But they knew what they would have to deal with when they were tardy. 

There was a beat, as they both stood there in the room alone under the stars. It was still, and she watched as what was about to unfold before her, and thought of what had already happened. This topaz had no reason to check on her and stand with her as she collected herself. She was such a curious gem. 

“So, um, you are feeling better, right?” The Topaz, awkwardly shifted her weight from foot to foot. Looking at her she could see a vision of her crawling across the floor to get back to her former position in her mind. It was an inevitable fate. 

“You do know that you being here is only a formality. And that there’s no possible threat on Homeworld, right?”

“I’m sorry, I just wanted to make sure you were okay.” What a curious gem. She would have to make sure that she requested her again in the future. 

“It’s fine. I would appreciate if you kept me company, just for a little longer.” 

“Yes your clarity.” 

Fate was unavoidable, but it can be delayed. Sapphire would grant her this kindness. 


	6. Chapter 6

The party had ended. She figured as much as without warning. 

In the same order they entered, the Diamonds started their exit. Judging by the brief expression she saw on her Diamond’s face, she was just as in the dark and unprepared for this. 

Pearl would have to remember for next time that parties started and ended as Pink Diamond wished. It must’ve come with the territory of being first among equals. 

She was torn as she watched this unfold. Her role as a starter pearl was to help guide her Diamond so that she always thrived. Yet at the same time she was well aware of the fact that it would be unheard of for a  _ pearl _ of all gems to walk alongside a _ Diamond _ in the Grand Exit. She couldn’t disgrace her Diamond like that. She had heard just how eager to shatter gems the Diamonds were from the other pearls in hushed voices. Jumping in like this was a definite way to get shattered. 

Though the alternative would be to hope that She didn’t end up floundering as she had heard she had in her entrance. Not being there to assist her would also be a definite way to get shattered. 

Looking to the other pearls offered her no assistance. They all stood as they were supposed to, not needing to worry about assisting their well informed and established Diamonds. 

She _ wasn’t _ supposed to be making errors like this. She might’ve been replaceable, but she didn’t want to be replaced so _ soon. _ At the very least she wanted to make it to the first colony.

Though without any effort from her, her Diamond managed just fine. 

It was to be expected. She was a Diamond, and this would be Her second time going down this aisle. There wasn’t anything to catch Her off guard at this point, aside from Pink Diamond getting up and leaving without much warning. 

Hopefully that meant that Pearl passed this first initial test. She held off until the other pearls broke position and went on to do their various tasks or simply return to lounging around before she pursued her Diamond. She could dream about getting to be one of the pretty pearls that only needed to sit around and be pretty when she wasn’t busy. 

She hurried out of the ballroom and into the main area. She needn’t worry about trying to push through the crowds of gems trying to return to their ships to get back to work. That was thankfully another wing entirely. 

Her Diamond wasn’t hard to miss. She was not only the only yellow gem in the empire aside from herself, but She also stood with a certain level of uncertainty. Perhaps she should’ve figured out a way to have been waiting out here for Her. 

It was unrealistic, but that wasn’t really stopping anyone for blaming her for her failure. 

Fortunately for her, her Diamond’s demeanor changed entirely when she spotted her. That same excited expression she had had at the party at her reveal. The other pearls said that the excitement over new gems would fade soon unless you were _ really  _ special. But Pearl could hope. Special gems didn’t get shattered as easily. 

She hoped. 

“Ah, my pearl. I trust that my exit was up to standard?” Her Diamond asked. She was meant to teach Her, but Pearl wasn’t expecting her to care about _ her _ opinion. Especially since she had so little to go off of.

“It was marvelous, My Diamond. This was your first party, and already you’ve seemed to have gotten a solid idea on what to do. Excellent work.” Pearl praised, though she doubted her words held much sway. She was a new pearl. The Other Diamonds would no doubt tell her what they thought of her performance. 

“Excellent. Though I’m sure that next time I will perform all the better.” Her Diamond looked over to the door, then over to the hallways. “Though I suppose this isn’t something I can practice. Certainly not here.”

“There’s always your room. I’m positive that there’s enough space to practice your entrance and exit in there, My Diamond.” There was also Her wing, though it still remained partially unfinished. 

She certainly didn’t envy the bismuth in charge of its creation. There was no doubt going to be a lapis lazuli from Pink Diamond’s barking orders and demanding they work faster. 

Her room also provided an added layer of privacy that She’d no doubt want. Pearl couldn’t imagine Her wing being very busy, but it was better to be safe than shattered. 

Her Diamond stopped, and stared at her for a moment. 

Pearl shouldn’t have said any of that. The question  _ had _ to be rhetorical, and her Diamond hadn’t _ actuall _ y wanted an answer for that. The other pearls had warned her about speaking out of turn. Pearls that were too mouthy were usually the ones that were the shortest lived. She’d watch her tongue in the future. 

“I was not aware I even had a room.” Her Diamond seemed genuinely surprised. 

Pearl desperately hoped that this was not  _ also _ meant to be a surprise, as she had heard stories of pearls being shattered by Diamonds who weren’t their own. Perhaps the adoration they had for Yellow would aid her chances of survival, rather than hurt them. 

There had to be some advantage to being Her first gem. Even if none of the Other Diamonds still had their starter pearls. 

“I could escort you there, if you wish.” She would have to simply grin and accept her fate. It wasn’t as if she could take back what she had said. 

Her Diamond would simply order her to, and she would have no other choice. It was easier for everyone if she simply went along with it and accepted her fate. 

“I’d greatly appreciate that. Thank you.” 

This must’ve simply just been because she was new, and her first gem. This behaviour didn’t actually mean anything. The facts alone didn’t seem to help her shake the feeling of appreciation as her Diamond thanked her. 

At her creation, she had many things implanted into her gem. Vast knowledge on the value of gems, a basic history, and what was presently the most important, a map to the whole palace. She knew exactly where she was going, and she knew the most practical ways to get there. 

She would keep a steady pace for her Diamond to follow. She could not imagine what would happen if she lost her Diamond in these halls. There were plenty of topaz and no doubt a star sapphire wandering about in these halls to find her, but what would become of  _ her _ if they found out she had _ lost _ her Diamond while she was escorting her was another matter entirely. 

Though they soon enough arrived at her room. Once there, she realized she hadn’t said a single word since they had started walking. She was too caught up in her own worries, that she was neglecting her duties as a pearl. 

Pearl could only hope that She was in a good mood after getting Her exit perfect that she wouldn’t notice how poor a job her pearl had done and allow her to continue serving and having a whole gem. 

Seeing as this was Her first time entering Her room, it only seemed fair to let her go first. It would also be an excellent opportunity for Her to practice her entrance. Pearl would hold the door open for her. 

“Would you like for me to give you an introduction to make the practice feel more authentic?” Because it would be great practice for her as well. She hadn’t gotten the chance to do her Diamond’s introduction. One of the other Diamond’s pearls had covered that for her, seeing as she wasn’t gifted until during the ceremony. 

“I would appreciate that greatly. Thank you.” 

What was really appreciated was how polite her Diamond was. She wasn’t sure how long it’d last, given that the other Diamonds would no doubt chide her for that, but it was nice for the time being. 

“Ahem. Introducing the _ Magnificent _ Yellow Diamond.” She announced to the empty room. 

It felt a little silly to do, but it wasn’t as though there were much difference when it came time to do the real thing. There were the other Diamonds, and the other pearls had made it clear that they themselves don’t _ really _ count. The rest of the gems were in the guest wing, where the noncourt gems visited. 

With the same poise and grace as she exited the room, her Diamond entered Her room. The next party they had, She was definitely going to be ready. There was the difference between practice and the real deal, but this gave her confidence that it was going to be fine. 

Once her Diamond stopped, she took that as her cue to enter the room. 

“That was magnificent, My Diamond! Truly you get better with every go. It’s hard to imagine you doing much better than this.” It might’ve been laying it on a little thick, but compliments were important, right? 

Her Diamond didn’t respond. She started to walk slowly around Her room, Her hand touching the pillars that opened it up to the rest of Homeworld. Staring out and never saying a word. 

Pearl was starting to get nervous. Not knowing what She was feeling wasn’t a good feeling, as bad usually meant bad for the pearl. She had nothing to do with how the room was built. She was here long after it was made, but she had also been informed that that didn’t mean anything. The simple fact that she was here and not one of the palace bismuth meant that she would be the one that had to pay. 

“My Diamond? Is everything alright? Everything is made to your expectations, correct? Because I can go fetch a bismuth to make the changes.” She could make this right. Regardless of being the only other gem in the room, Pearl was prepared to do her best to prove that she deserved to survive another lunar cycle. She was willing to problem solve for her Diamond, and hopefully that would be enough to appease her for the time being. 

“It’s beautiful…” Her Diamond finally said. Joy was also an option. That was good. That meant that it wouldn’t be her and a handful of bismuth shattered for a subpar job. It had been rushed, sure, but as far as Pearl could tell it was done immaculately. Thankfully her Diamond thought so too. “When you get the chance, could you find those bismuth and thank them for the job they’ve done here?” 

“You want me to  _ thank _ them for You?” A bismuth was worth slightly more than a pearl. They were a disposable gem like she was, but they served more than a status symbol. Thanking them seemed unnecessary. 

“Perhaps you’re correct. It would be best if I thanked them personally. I’m certain my lessons can wait a little longer.” 

That wasn’t at all what she meant. To go in person was even _ more  _ outlandish than sending her to thank them for Her. That meant She was going to spend some of _ Her _ time seeking out  _ nothing _ gems and showing Her gratitude. And on top of all that to do it at the cost of time that could be spent getting Her to the point where the other Diamonds would respect her more. 

Maybe it wasn’t that she was special as she was Her first gem. 

Maybe this was how her Diamond was, and She was simply kinder than the other Diamonds. It would mean that she _ wasn’t _ special, but still somehow Pearl found it hard to be upset about that. It would be short lived, she already knew, but still that little kindness meant everything. 

She supposed that meant that she was going to have to cherish what little time this was going to last. This could very easily get her shattered by the other Diamonds, but she found it too hard to even find the desire to change this behavior. Her Diamond was perfect the way she was. 

“I will bring them to you right away, My Diamond.”


	7. Chapter 7

Her time spent practicing with her pearl was short lived, as yet _ another  _ one of Pink’s pearls came to collect her. Yellow had to wonder if the fact that each of Pink’s pearls was one she hadn’t seen yet was intentional, or a coincidence. It hadn’t been that many times, and Pink did have a lot of pearls. This had to be little more than chance that she had seen so many. 

But her thoughts on that aside, she would follow her out, accompanied by her own pearl. Pink was no doubt going to show her another key aspect of being a Diamond, and Yellow wasn’t prepared to face that without her pearl by her side yet. Her assistance was presently crucial to her reaching her fullest potential, and Yellow was not about to forget that. 

The pearl led them down to where the ships were parked, and onto the large pink arm that Pink was flown around in. This must’ve been Pink taking her to visit one of her colonies. Yellow hadn’t expected to head off that soon, but regardless she would do her best to impress Pink in her ability to learn and perform. 

Pink was waiting in her chamber, lounging across the chairs as she waited for her to arrive. Hopefully they hadn’t taken too long, Pink was one of the last gems she wanted to disappoint. 

Fortunately for her, Pink perked up, getting up from her cushions to go see her. Looked like she was right on time. 

“Yellow! I hear you got to go visit your room. Did you love it, or did you _ love _ it?” Pink asked, taking Yellow’s hands and swinging them to the side.

“Yes, it was absolutely magnificent. It’s everything I could’ve wanted.” Pink must’ve been the one to design the room. She was definitely the one to have ordered it. The bismuth at the palace were skilled, but she doubted that even they could achieve such beauty so fast. 

“I’m so happy to hear that! It’s such a shame that I wasn’t fast enough to be the one to show you it.” From the corner of her eye, she could see her pearl tense. Pink had a lot of authority, but surely she didn’t have the power to dismiss gems that weren’t of her own court. 

Though she couldn’t blame her pearl for getting nervous. As she spoke Yellow could feel the room getting colder. 

“Had I known, I wouldn’t have been so insistent of my pearl to show me to my part of the palace.” She could afford to take another fall for her pearl. It was under the guise of guilt for disappointing Pink, so it would probably work. Yellow was in a position where she couldn’t be dismissed. She only had to worry about her colony being delayed because of her own incompetence. 

“How did you know that you had your own part of the palace if you weren’t already told about it?” Pink blinked, catching on to this half truth she had been told. 

“Well, I figured that since the palace was ours, that we would have our own sections of it for our own. Not that I don’t enjoy spending time with you and the other Diamonds, but I assumed that we would have our own spots to decompress and have some time alone.” Hopefully that would be a believable lie. Pink closed her eyes to think it over. 

“Wow, you’re a lot more clever than I gave you credit for! I’m going to have to be much sneakier with my surprises in the future.” She giggled. 

Thankfully she didn’t seem upset, which was good for everyone. There was always an odd tone about the air when Pink wasn’t happy. 

“So are we returning to the colony I emerged from so I may learn how to run my own?” Not that much time had passed since she last saw her, but maybe the other Diamonds gathered in private to discuss her. 

If they did they must’ve made up their minds that she had done well enough to deserve her own colony. 

“Oh we’re doing something a _ lot _ more fun than that. I’m going to take you to one of my zoos so you can see all the _ cute  _ little organics I’ve picked up. I only pick ones that I think look  _ especially _ cute. They’re _ almost _ as cute as you, Yellow.” She was fairly sure there had to be a better use of her time then to see organics, but it wasn’t as if she had much else to do. 

“Do the organics serve any purpose other than be cute?” Because it seemed like it’d be wasted effort otherwise. 

“They don’t need to serve a purpose, silly. They’re cute and they make me happy. They don’t really need much other reason to still be here.” 

That must mean that they’re fairly low maintenance, and that it’s no cost to the empire to keep them. 

Still, there was a nagging feeling that no matter how meager, they could’ve been put to better use.

Pink must’ve caught onto her thoughts about the zoos and all these kept organics. She signed and gave her a soft look. 

“You’re too busy thinking about what the organics can do for the empire that you’re forgetting that  _ we’re _ part of the empire too. Just _ trust _ me. I’ve been around a lot longer than you have. I wanna see if you can figure out what I want to show you about organics when we get there, you little cutie.” Pink leaned in and tapped her on the nose. 

She hadn’t considered the possibility that learning about these would be helpful to her in any way, but Pink had built an empire from the ground up. There had to be some things that she knew. 

“I won’t let you down, Pink. I will find what it is you want to teach me when we get there.” She was determined, and she was going to put her all into figuring this out. 

“Super!” Pink clapped her hands together, going back to her upbeat, chipper self. 

Yellow still wasn’t entirely sure at all about this zoo, but now she had something to look forward to. 

It wasn’t long before the ship landed down in a little orbital station. This had to have been the zoo. Pink got up, leading the way out. Yellow would follow suit, Pearl staying close to her side. This time no topaz would follow with them. They stayed aboard the ship. This place was going to be full of organics, but if they weren’t going to follow, then that must’ve meant that there was no remote chance of danger while they were in there. 

The halls seemed baren safe the few orange gems that stood out of their way against the wall as they saluted them. There weren’t any real defining features in there, and it seemed that aside from the new gems, that there was nothing different from the other locations that she had been. 

Was her lesson going to be that organics could strike at any time? That they possessed some sort of ability to turn invisible and strike while their opponant’s guard was down? That must’ve been the lesson that Pink was trying her here. Organics were a beast completely different from gems, and that they could be anything and didn’t have to follow the same rules and regulations that gems did. 

She stayed on her guard as she followed Pink into a room similar to the Diamond Room she had seen on the other colony. There were large cushions high up for them to sit on and look down upon the other gems that entered into their room, with shells along the sides of the stairs for pearls to stand. 

Pink sprawled out on her cushion, but Yellow chose to stay upright. She wasn’t about to let herself disappoint Pink like this. She had to make sure that she wouldn’t be snuck up on by any organic. She would prove that she was worthy of being a fellow Diamond. 

Pink’s pearl then turned on the display that Yellow had not previously been aware of. On it were little creatures roaming about in an aimless way. They looked _ horrid  _ whatever they were. It was no wonder that gems could beat such creatures if they were all so pitiful like these ones. 

Standing among them, was a teardrop shaped gem. She slowly walked about, nearly as aimless as the creatures. She must’ve been tending to them in some way. It felt rude to say, but Yellow was inclined to believe that she was doing a poor job if that was what she was meant to do. 

“So have you figured out why I brought you here yet, Yellow?” Pink asked, flipping over to her stomach and kicking her feet. 

“Well, I was under the impression that the point of this trip was to show me how dangerous organics are. But now that I’m here looking at them, I’m starting to think that this is to alleviate my worries about the strength of organics. Because compared to gems they’re haphazardly made and poorly designed.” These things held no chance in battle. They looked so frail and mindless. Even if they had a leader who knew what they were doing, she doubted they would end up being much of a threat.

“Not quite. Have you figured out what the gem that’s standing there is doing?” Pink asked. Yellow had thought that it was obvious, but was now starting to get the feeling that maybe her first instinct was wrong. 

“Is she not caring for the organics there?” Maybe she wasn’t as clever as Pink had previously claimed. Had she been  _ truly _ clever, she would have studied up on her kinds of gem instead of focusing on getting her entrance right. Now Pink was going to be disappointed in her and she deserved it. 

“Not quite. She’s an angelite. She’s specially made to deal with organics, just like the amber we passed in the halls. Angelite are made special to sooth organics and take away their fight. No one wants to fight when they’re _ happy _ . They just want to be friends. Those organics in there are actually a highly volatile race, but look how _ happy _ they are now that they’re in there with an angelite. It’s like they’re all living in a dream.” 

Yellow had a hard time believing that these things were even remotely dangerous. But Pink had no reason to lie to her about this, so it had to be right.

“So what do the amber do?” Pink had mentioned them, but didn’t actually say what they did. They had to have been important if she brought them up. 

“Well we send amber down in pairs, and they fuse around organic life, temporarily suspending them while they’re transported elsewhere.” 

She wished that she would stop answering questions in a way that brought up more questions. It was starting to make her wish that she had studied up more than she had practiced walking. 

“What’s fusion?” This would be her last question. She would save any questions for Pearl for later. She’d made herself look like a fool enough for one lunar cycle. 

“It’s when two of the same kind of lesser gem come together to temporarily form one big stronger gem to face a stronger enemy. Or in this case, two lesser non gems come together and make one bigger non gem to trap organics.” That seemed like a useful tool. 

Yellow had to stop herself from asking any further questions. Pearl would be asked later why higher class gems didn’t fuse, or why two different gems didn’t fuse. She would know the answer, and she was here to help her judgement free. 

“I imagine that since these ones were so volatile that fusion must’ve been used to subdue them. Either that, or angelite aren’t restricted to zoos.” Making a gem stronged seemed to be most useful in combat. Yellow couldn’t see an enemy aside from the organics that would need to be fought.

“Angelite are used for planned attacks on gatherments of organics. Fusion is more used when the odd herd of organics catches our feldspar off guard.”

So there were different approaches to taking over a planet. Yellow should’ve known that it wouldn’t be that easy. 

“I will be sure to keep this in mind when I’m planning on my own colony.” That she would hopefully be getting soon. 

“We’ll make sure you get an easy one to start with. One with divided organics. Ones that are already fighting each other are the easiest ones to take. They barely notice until they’ve completely been wiped out.” 

“If it’s completely alright, I feel like I’m prepared to start with a more advanced planet. I want a challenge.” It was perhaps a little bold on her end, but she still couldn’t resist. She had made a fool of her chance at almost every opportunity. If she did this one well, then it’d impress the rest of the Diamonds. This would be her chance to redeem herself. 

Pink blinked, before she started laughing. 

She was serious. She wanted to take on a more challenging planet, because she was willing to work for her victory. It wouldn’t mean anything if it were simply handed to her. She wanted to earn it, and nothing less. 

“You’re so fun. I’ll talk to the other Diamonds about it later.” That wasn’t a no. That seemed to be actually quite promising. 

“Thank you so much, Pink.” Her colony felt obtainable. It wasn’t this out there thought. Maybe she had impressed Pink more than she had previously thought. 

“Oh! Speaking of fun, your surprise should be ready now. We should head back.” She was getting another gift? She had already gotten Pearl, a party, and a room of her own. She wasn’t prepared to get another gift so soon.

But there was no time to ask. Pink had already gotten up and was skipping off. It didn’t really matter. Yellow would find out about it soon enough. 


	8. Chapter 8

Pink led them down a long corridor. Yellow still had no idea where they were going, and it didn’t seem as though her pearl had any idea what was going on. Yellow could already feel as though asking wasn’t going to help her any. 

Her existence had been brief, but already Yellow had come to the conclusion that she hated surprises. The tension seemed to last for far too long for her liking. 

Patience wasn’t the issue. If Yellow was simply told what was waiting for her, this wouldn’t be an issue. She would be more than able to wait for however long she needed to. It was the not knowing that was unbearable. 

“And you can’t give me any hint as to what I am to expect?” Yellow asked, knowing full well Pink would give a nonanswer and continue to prance about the facility. 

“If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise!” Pink giggled gleefully. 

Somehow Yellow couldn’t find it in her to be angry. Perhaps it was the excitement that was keeping her from being frustrated with this silly game. 

Especially since Yellow vaguely remembered the zoo they were in being round. 

Not that Yellow knew that meant much. She hadn’t been here before and it _ was  _ a large facility. Perhaps it was just on the other side of the zoo? 

Maybe she was lying to herself and she was more impatient than she would’ve liked to admit. The fact that it was taking so long felt as though that was enough to show that it was indeed the case. 

This had to all be in Yellow’s head. Her perception of this had to be askew because of her own impatience. 

“Might I ask when we’ll arrive?” 

“You _ might _ , but if you ask I’ll just tell you it’s a  _ surprise _ .” Pink teased as she kept going. 

This was starting to get tiresome. She felt as though they had to have gone around at least once. How could they _ not _ have arrived at the place Pink had in mind. And if they hadn’t, then maybe it would’ve been best if they simply went the other direction. This felt like a waste of time.

“Pink, how much further is it? I’m starting to feel as though we’re walking around in circles and not actually going anywhere.” But that had to be wrong, right? Progress of some sort had to have happened. 

Pink giggled, and Yellow felt as though she wanted to be upset with her and her incessant need to withhold information like this, but somehow she just couldn’t manage. Which to some degree was frustrating.

“Pink I’m serious, I don’t recall the zoo being this large while we were approaching it.” Energy wasn’t something Yellow lacked, but she was starting to find that she  _ was  _ in fact impatient. 

This was time that could be better spent with her learning different tasks and better understanding the gems around her. Pink may have had the luxury of knowing what was happening but Yellow was still millenia behind. Perhaps she’s forgotten that Yellow lacked all this information. Did the other Diamonds not emerge the same? 

Pink continued to skip and frolic down the hallway. The amber that milled about avoided looking at them. Yellow might’ve been mistaken, but she felt as though she had seen them before and this was some sort of _ farce _ Pink was playing on her. 

“Pink how many laps have we done of this zoo? May I at least know that much?” Yellow asked. It felt as though there were something holding her back. She _ wanted _ to be angry, but she just  _ couldn’t. _ She had no idea what was wrong with her. 

She couldn’t even feel the concern she knew she _ should _ be feeling. The longer this was going on, the more like Yellow felt as though she was losing her mind. 

But Pink knew what was going on. If there was something that wasn’t supposed to be happening, Pink would stop it. She was the one that knew what was happening, right? 

“Don’t you worry your pretty little head, Yellow. We’re just about there.” Pink said, ever so sweetly. 

Pink didn’t seem to mind whatever it was that was happening. She seemed perfectly happy as always. Maybe even more so than usual. Whatever this surprise was, Pink was certainly looking forward to it. Perhaps Yellow should as well? 

It was definitely easy to feel excited, but the nagging feeling of the frustration and the concern still gnawed at the back of her mind. Feeling was perhaps too strong of a word. It was more an echo or a suggestion. Nothing seemed to form but excitement. 

But why did something feel off about the excitement?

He cast a glance at her Pearl. She was still here to teach her the ropes, so maybe there was something that had gone awry and Pink simply hadn’t been affected by it. 

Her Pearl seemed perfectly happy. Like nothing was bothering her in the slightest either. 

So what was wrong with Yellow? Was it something that she needed to make note of? When should she consider this a problem? It was frustrating and concerning how she couldn’t even be frustrated and concerned. 

“And we’re here!” Pink chirped, having her pearl open the door for them and reenter the room. 

Now Yellow could feel some relief. That was at least  _ one _ of the major issues solved. It made the other one less noticeable which was a bonus. 

The room they entered felt familiar. Yellow hadn’t been to a _ lot  _ of places yet, but she had a feeling that she had in fact been here before. 

Specifically that she had been here before all that walking around the zoo and this was the room that they started in. Which she could be wrong and it was uniform on purpose, but Yellow failed to see why it’d be necessary to have multiple rooms like this in one zoo. It wasn’t as though there was a need to have multiple viewing rooms. 

Though they did have two ballrooms in their palace and perhaps she was being brought here to meet some gems? Yellow could only hope that while they wouldn’t be her gems, they’d be gems that were going to assist her on her path to starting her own colony. 

This room might’ve looked identical, but this one had a completely different one of Pink’s pearls here. Again, not one that she had seen before, but it was a completely different one. It was odd, but it still couldn’t be intentional. Pink wouldn’t do that. 

“Are you ready for your surprise, Yellow?” Pink chirped, hopping a little as she clapped her hands together. 

While far from the level of excitement Pink seemed to be, Yellow had to admit that she too, was excited. “Yes, I do believe I am.”

Pink went over to her new pearl and stood by her. The pearl produced a gem from inside her gem, and set it down on the ground. 

The cut of the gem was rather unique, it wasn’t one that Yellow had seen before. Granted her knowledge of gem cuts was rather limited, given that that was not her job and the limited amount of gems she had been privileged to see thus far. Yellow still couldn’t help but be fascinated by this oddly, yet very precisely cut gem. 

It sat there momentarily before it slowly lifted off the ground, just as her pearl had as it when she first formed. The form of this gem was looser than the stiff and formal way her pearl stood. Her hair was the most notable thing about her, as it up in two twin formations in the same shape as her gem cut. 

The red gem landed now fully formed, and bounced idly as it stared at her. 

“Yellow, I’d like for you to meet your newest gem! She’s a spinel! They’re just such  _ fun  _ little gems, and they’re made special for us Diamonds.” Pink introduced. 

But the gem in front of her was not yellow, but instead a bright crimson. Yellow wasn’t about to object to a new gem, but she was under the impression that there was going to be a lot more uniformity in the colour. Red made her seem more like she belonged to Pink than to her. 

“Pink, perhaps it’s just the lighting, but my spinel seems to be red, not yellow.” Though her pearl still seemed yellow. There had to be some sort of error somewhere and maybe it was Yellow. 

“Oh, I was so afraid you’d say that. I asked the jades if they could make me a pretty yellow spinel. They failed _ so _ many times and it was just  _ so _ disappointing. So many jades were dismissed and they told me the best they could do was red. I already get the pretty pink ones, Blue gets the beautiful blues, and White gets the clears. So that means that you get the red spinels.” 

Yellow supposed that made sense. She wouldn’t lie that it was a _ little  _ disappointing that her second gem that was made for her wasn’t even in her colour, but that was neither here nor there. She wasn’t about to deny such a wonderful gift so immediately. 

“I see, then I apologize. It was not my intention to point out the limits of someone’s hard work.” She’s certain those Jades were doing their best. 

And to question it so blatantly in front of the gem they created. Yellow turned to her spinel. “I hope that you can forgive me as well. I simply did not understand, and I hope I have not insulted you too badly.” 

Her spinel looked at her confused, as if she had no idea what she was talking about. Had she still been turning on? Yellow wasn’t knowledgeable about gems, maybe some gems took longer than others? 

Her thoughts were cut short by Pink laughing. It wasn’t the playful and excited chuckled from earlier, and had since evolved into a full laugh. As usual, Yellow was confused as to what she’s done to make Pink so amused. 

“Oh Yellow you are just the _ cutest _ little gem I’ve ever seen. Look at you apologizing to you  _ spinel. _ Next I’m going to catch you apologizing to a  _ computer  _ or a _ ship! _ ” She laughed. “Or even a  _ pearl!” _

“We’re going to be working together in the future, are we not? I don’t want to build easily avoidable tensions.” There had to be something that Yellow was missing. Something key that made this so funny to Pink. 

“A Diamond working with a spinel? You’re the funniest, Yellow! Maybe I should dismiss my spinel and you can just tell me your _ cute _ little jokes instead.” Pink cackled. 

“I am a _ Diamond! _ Not a _ spinel. _ I am to do a  _ Diamond  _ is meant to do.” Yellow didn’t even know what a spinel did, but she knew it certainly wasn’t her job and she didn’t want to be stuck doing a spinel job when there was work of her own to do. 

“I’m just teasing. But I _ am _ going to tell Blue and White just how _ cute  _ you are.” Pink leaned in and tapped the tip of Yellow’s nose. “Not that they don’t already know, I just don’t think they know how cute you  _ really _ are.” 

Annoyed was something that Yellow would like to feel, however it would seem as her emotions still were limited. This was an issue she was going to have to look further into. 

Yellow opened her mouth to speak, but Pink spoke up first. “I’ll let you get acquainted with your spinel. I’m going to go do some work back on Homeworld.” 

“Wait, wouldn’t this be an opportune time for me to learn how to properly be a Diamond?” Her emotions might not have been working properly, but she could surely focus on learning and that could be a concern later. 

“You  _ are _ , silly. You’re going to learn how to interact with gems lower than you. That’s what I do all day, and you need lots of practice if you’re apologizing to gems like  _ spinel _ .” Pink said, giving her spinel a flick and knocking it flat on her face. “If anything  _ she _ should be apologizing to _ you _ for being red. She’s the one that messed up.” 

  
  


She stared down at the poor fallen gem that bounced ever so slightly as she hit the ground. Her spinel didn’t move, like a statue she stayed perfectly still. Like she was bracing for something to happen. 

Yellow felt something inside her snap. 

It was deep, but it didn’t feel  _ bad. _ It was like something that was supposed to happen finally did. Breaking was supposed to feel bad, but somehow it felt great. Like this was  _ exactly _ how she was supposed to feel. 

“Don’t you _ dare _ injure my gems.” She stamped her foot, leaving a crater in the ground where her foot hit. 

She stared at Pink, who somehow didn’t seem as pink as she normally did and instead slightly orange. She looked shocked, and honestly so was Yellow. She wasn’t expecting any of that. 

It felt  _ good.  _

But it was short lived, because pretty much as soon as it happened the anger was back somewhere out of her reach and Pink was her normal pink and happy self. 

“Oh you’re just _so_ **_adorable_** Yellow! I can’t _wait_ to tell the others.” Pink chuckled, and skipped out the room. 

Yellow wouldn’t follow her, she would stay here with her gems. They needed her more. 

She went over and knelt next to her spinel. “Are you alright? That was quite the nasty fall.” 

The spinel looked up at her from the floor, the same puzzled expression on her face as before. Like she was studying her. 

“Are you able to speak? You aren’t injured, are you?” Yellow helped her to at least sit up. 

Fortunately it didn’t seem like her gem was damaged. Though it was such an odd cut that it was possible that there was a small crack somewhere on her. 

“You’re an odd one, you know that, My Diamond.” She finally spoke. 

Yellow blinked, because that wasn’t what she was expecting to hear at all. Those comments were more what she expected from Pink, but not from a gem like her spinel. 

“You _ dare _ speak to Your  _ Diamond  _ that way?!” Her pearl spoke up on her behalf, quickly going from her spot by her side to right in front of her spinel. “After she  _ saved  _ your life?!”

“It’s quite alright. I want to hear what it is she means.” She gently placed a hand on her pearl, and made her sat down with them. 

“I- But she- I can’t-” Her pearl sputtered, before making herself comfortable next to her. “Of course, My Diamond.” 

“So what do you mean that I’m “odd”.” She asked, her attention going back to her spinel. 

“I mean that you’re _ odd.  _ Just like Pink Diamond said, apologizing to me’s like apologizing to a ship, or an organic, or a _ pearl _ . There’s no reason. My only existence in life is to keep you entertained. There’s no other purpose in my life. You’re not supposed to _ care _ about me.” 

“You are speaking out of line. Our Diamond may do with us as she pleases.” 

“Pearl, there’s no need to defend me. What troubles me is the comment about you comparing yourself and my pearl to objects and organics. I’d say you’re both far from that. We simply play different roles.” Yellow explained. 

She could not have made such progress already if it weren’t for her pearl, and she barely had her, but she’s certain her spinel would provide her with something equally as important. 

“Surely you _ jest, _ My Diamond.” Her pearl added, perhaps slightly mortified at what she’s said. “We are no more than tools to better you. You couldn't possibly believe that we are in any way your equals.”

“Then we are _ all  _ tools. I to the empire, and you to me. Our roles are all important.” 

“And _ that’s _ why I think you’re so odd, My Diamond.” But her spinel stopped and smiled at her. “I’m lucky to be part of your court. I should thank the stars I was lucky enough to be your spinel.” 

“And I myself am fortunate to have gems such as yourselves in my court.”

“My Diamond you can’t  _ possibly  _ be serious.” Her pearl asked in complete disbelief. 

“I’m especially thankful for you, my pearl. I’m only the Diamond I am today because of your guidance.” 

“You’re giving me _ too _ much credit. I haven’t done _ nearly  _ enough.” 

Yellow looked back at the crater behind them. She was so worried about her spinel that she had forgotten entirely about her outburst. 

“Then can you tell me about what happened? Which Pink, I mean. After Pink knocked my spinel over.” 

Her pearl blinked, before holding her hands together in front of her chest. “My apologies My Diamond. I unfortunately don’t know what happened there.” 

Her spinel hopped to her feet, chiming in before Yellow could have a chance to reassure her that it would be settled. . “Well that’s why I’m here!” 

Yellow looked up at her, waiting for her to elaborate.

“The best way to entertain a Diamond is to take full advantage of their power. Blue Diamonds spinels tell sad stories and make tragic poems. White Diamond has her tell her stream on consciousness thoughts. Pink Diamond has hers do all sort of antics from pranking other gems and telling jokes. But that outburst earlier showed me  _ exactly  _ how to approach you.” 

Her outburst. That had meaning to it?

“Do  _ not _ call attention to that! How rude can you be.” 

“My pearl, there’s no need to get upset about this.” She placed a hand on her pearl’s shoulder before turning her attention back to her spinel. “Please continue.” 

“What _ you  _ do is  _ anger. _ Which unfortunately, My Diamond means that my goal now is to infuriate you.” 

“How is that going to help?!” 

“Well if it’s as easy to upset you as it is your pearl than my job’s going to be easy. But I have a feeling you’re going to be a tougher nut to crack, aren’t you.” Her spinel taunted as she idly bounced. 

“Will you stop if I ask you to stop?” 

“If you ever want me to stop, all you have to do is order. Just say E4YSP1 I order you to stop and I’ll stop.” 

“Very well. I thank you in advance for your service.” 

“No need to thank me, Yellow. It’s what I was made to do.”


End file.
